1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.
2. Background
Generally, a refrigerator is an appliance for storing food within a storage chamber in a frozen or refrigerated state by discharging into the storage chamber, cold air generated through a refrigeration cycle constituted by a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, etc. Such a refrigerator includes, as storage compartments, a freezing compartment for storing food or beverages in a frozen state, and a refrigerating compartment for storing food or beverages at low temperature.
Refrigerators may be classified into a top mounting type refrigerator in which a freezing compartment is arranged over a refrigerating compartment, a bottom freezer type refrigerator in which a refrigerating compartment is arranged over a freezing compartment, and a side-by-side type refrigerator in which a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment are laterally arranged.
Recently developed refrigerators have various functions in addition to original functions to store food in a refrigerated or frozen state. For example, a dispenser is installed at the door of a refrigerator to supply purified water or ice. In addition, a display is installed at a front surface of the door to display states of the refrigerator so as to allow the user to manage the refrigerator.
Recently developed refrigerators have a tendency toward an enlargement in capacity. For efficient utility of storage spaces, a door rack or a storage case is additionally provided at the inside of a refrigerator door, e.g., a refrigerating compartment door, in order to provide a space for storing food articles. The storage case, which is provided as a space separate from a storage chamber in a refrigerator, is referred to as a “home bar” or an “auxiliary storage compartment”.
In order to allow the user to have access to the auxiliary storage compartment without opening the refrigerating door to open the entirety of the refrigerating compartment, an opening may be formed at the refrigerating door, and a sub-door may be mounted to the opening in order to open or close the opening. The sub-door may have a size equal to or smaller than the main door. The sub-door may be mounted to be vertically pivotable with respect to a horizontal axis or to be laterally pivotable with respect to a vertical axis.
However, there are problems. For example, when the sub-door is smaller than the main door, a gap is formed between the edge of the opening and the edge of the sub-door in a state in which the opening of the main door is closed by the sub-door. The gap is viewed at front side and as such, appearance beauty may be degraded. Furthermore, cold air may leak through the gap.
In addition, the sub-door is mounted in such a manner that the sub-door is embedded in the opening and as such, there is a problem in that the pivot angle of the sub-door is insufficient. The structure of a latch device to selectively couple the sub-door to the main door is also complex. Since the latch device is mounted after passing through the sub-door, there is also a problem in that cold air may leak through a mounting portion of the latch device.